Page 83 of Claimed by the Savage Dragons
‘Because I’ve spent the past month trying to get home early just so that I can smell you. Because even though we’ve barely said a word to each other, your mere presence has somehow changed my entire existence. Because you’re my mate. I’m sure of it and so is my dragon. I tried to resist at first, but I might as well try to stop the world from turning. The truth is, I’d do anything to keep you safe. Anything. Even if it means the Stormriders die out.’
He lets out a long breath. ‘Maybe we should.’
I stare up into his eyes and I caress the bump. I’m scared, sure, but could I really do that? Just…not have it? Pretend this never happened? Could I leave Tor and Brax? Drey? I focus on the pull that’s drawing me to him, the same one that I felt with Tor and Brax, and I pull Drey’s face to mine, kissing him hard.
‘I’m not going anywhere,’ I whisper at his shocked face as I pull away.
I look at Del. ‘You better keep me alive.’
She gives me a wry grin. ‘I think you and Drey need to go then. Before Aziel’s buffoons try to take you again.’
‘Where?’ I ask.
‘The Lake,’ she answers and Drey nods.
‘What’s the Lake?’
‘It’s an old place that only a few of us know about now.’
‘But fuck knows what state it’s in now,’ Drey says with a frown. ‘No one’s been there for over a hundred years.’
Del gives him a devilish look. ‘I go there for a little R&R once in a while. I just take a roundabout route so anyone who’s paying attention thinks I’m hunting.’
Drey lets out a chuckle. ‘Devious female.’
‘Lucky for you,’ she snorts. ‘Everything you need is there including some stores in the basement and a phone you can use. Go now. Take nothing with you in case it’s not just the food they contaminated.’
‘Wait,’ I say. ‘How long for?’
‘Until you deliver,’ Del says. ‘I’ll come as soon as I can.’
‘I’ll need to explain my absence,’ Drey mutters as he grabs his laptop and some paperwork.
‘Send a message to the council that the trouble in the Borderlands requires your personal attention. You know the signal there is patchy, so turn off your phone and they’ll assume that’s why they can’t contact you.’
‘What about Aziel?’
Del rolls her eyes. ‘He’ll be too busy creaming himself that both you and Brax are gone and he’s finally getting his chance to step up to the Commander seat. I doubt he’ll even question it. He’ll probably send someone to the Borderlands after you to stick you in the back while you’re weakened from the dragonsbane though. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t found a way to neutralize Tor and Brax too.’
‘What are you going to do?’
Del picks up her med bag. ‘I’m going to pack some stuff, send that video to all the females in the faction I trust, and retreat to my secondary lab for a while. I’ll contact Tor and Brax, too. You shouldn’t do that from your phone.’
She and Drey lock wrists. ‘Be safe, Delra.’
Del nods. ‘And you, Dreythos.’
And then she surprises me by turning to me and enveloping me in a tight hug. ‘I’ll come to check you over and do an ultrasound as soon as I can get away. I’m a very good doctor, Mari, and there’s not much I didn’t see over the years. I’m better than some town medic. I promise you that.’
I nod. ‘Thanks.’
I’m nowhere near okay with this, but the thought of Drey taking me somewhere far away is worse. I don’t want to be without Tor, Brax, and Drey. I touch my tummy. Maybe I don’t want to be without the baby either, even though I’m terrified.
She gives my hand a squeeze and glances at Drey. They share a look that I don’t understand, and then she’s gone.
Drey doesn’t waste any more time. He immediately opens the closet and draws out a long thick coat. ‘Put this on.’
When I’m covered from head to toe, he leads me back into his apartment and down a hallway that I hadn’t noticed before. At the end is a spiral staircase.
